Tesco shoppers say 'what is world coming to' over new rules for buying chocolate

Tesco shoppers have spoken out after spotting tubs of Celebrations and Heroes had been "locked up" in netting in a bid to foil shoplifters. Shoppers have been left angry over the drastic security measure at a Tesco store during the shoplifting epidemic.

Tesco wrapped another everyday item in nets to deter shoplifters as more and more crimes are reported. In a post, a shopper wrote: "Broken Britain. What is it coming to when Tesco have to put security tags on Hero's and Celebrations?"

Tesco bosses are locking up extra virgin olive oil in anti-tamper netting to deter shoplifters, too. One Tesco worker said: “The old tags just went around the neck of bottles and were quite easy to pull off. The new sleeves prevent people opening the bottles and the alarms are very, very loud if they are removed on the sly.”

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The move comes after Tesco boss Ken Murphy said workers are being offered bodycams in a bid to tackle unruly customers, with assaults on staff up a third. Mr Murphy said: “It shouldn’t have to be like this. Crime is a scourge on society and an insult to shoppers and retail workers.

"I want to see those who break the law in our stores brought to book." In April a British Retail Consortium report found that instances of violence and abuse in shopping centres had risen by 65% from 2021-22 to 2022-23. Body armour suppliers said demand for stab vests worn by shopping centre security staff had soared over the past two years.

Shoplifting and attacks on shop workers has risen in the UK, with figures released in February showing 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse a day. Katy Bourne, the Sussex police and crime commissioner who is the lead for business crime at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said the levels of retail crime being reported were “unprecedented”.